His theory is supported by the presence in the Mocedades of some Leonese linguistics, the knowledge of Zamorano microtoponymy shown by the author, the constant placing of the king's court in Zamoma in the poem, the encounter that Rodrigo has with King Ferdnando in Granja de Moreruela (Zamora), and imprecisions that deal with the local Palentine traditions that the cantar contains. On the other hand, Juan Victorio postulates the author to be a native of Zamora (who very well may be related professionally with the diocese of Palencia) and educated, as shown by the author's diplomatic and heraldic knowledge. This same motivation had already been present in the propagandist work of Gonzalo de Berceo with respect to San Millán de la Cogolla. To associate the figure of an already very legendary Cid to the history of this religious demarcation was to bring parishioners and resources to the bishop. The fact that earlier versions of the poem do not allude at all to the diocese of Palencia suggests that the work was composed to publicise this ecclesiastical demarcation during a period of time spanning an economic and political crisis. Armistead, was re-elaborating a text from the second half of the 13th century, now lost, and which is known by the name of "Gesta de las Mocedades de Rodrigo." Date and authorship Īlan Deyermond places the writing of the manuscript around 1360 in the region of Palencia, credited to an educated author, possibly a priest, who, according to Deyermond and Samuel G. After this tremendous victory and in the middle of the negotiations over the surrender, the manuscript ends. Faced with this situation, Rodrigo encourages King Fernando to conquer France and together, finally, they will triumph over the coalition formed by the count of Savoy, the King of France, the Emperor and the Pope. At this point, the king of France, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope demand a humiliating tribute from Castile, amongst the items demanded in tribute are fifteen noble virgin maidens each year. However the hero refuses, in a common folkloric motif of postponement of an obligation through the pursuit a difficult and long-lasting mission, until he has won five battles.Īlthough the five battles had remained vague in earlier versions of the Mocedades de Rodrigo, in this particular text, they can be considered to be the victory against the Moor Burgos de Ayllón, the victory against the champion of Aragon for the possession of Calahorra, the defense of Castile against the conspiracy of the treacherous counts, the battle against five allied Moors and the moving of the seat of the bishop of Palencia.
In order to make amends for his guilt, King Ferdinand orders him to marry Jimena. Īfter the initial character genealogy, in which the ancestry of the hero is recounted, the poem tells how the young Rodrigo killed an enemy of his father, the count Don Goméz, himself father of Jimena Díaz.
The text that has reached us lacks a title, and critics have variously titled the work Mocedades de Rodrigo or del Cid ("The youthful deeds of Rodrigo, the Cid"), Refundición de las Mocedades de Rodrigo ("A Recasting of the Youthful Deeds of Rodrigo-Amistead"), Cantar de Rodrigo y el Rey Fernando ("Song of Rodrigo and King Fernando-Menéndez Pidal") and Crónica rimada del Cid ("The Rhyming Chronicle of El Cid-Bourland"). The only codex that contains the work is a manuscript from 1400 that is kept in the National Library of Paris. There are 1164 surviving verses, preceded by an initial prose fragment. The Mocedades de Rodrigo is the name given to a late, anonymous Castilian cantar de gesta, composed around 1360, that relates the origins and exploits of the youth of the legendary hero El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar). Bibliotèque Royale, Paris, nº 12, olim Cod. Cantar de Rodrigo y el Rey Fernando (The lay of Rodrigo and King Fernando)